


Life is a Stream Where Men Sink or Swim

by gwyllgi



Series: Herc/Raleigh Bingo Challenge [15]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-08
Updated: 2014-11-08
Packaged: 2018-02-24 14:52:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2585387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gwyllgi/pseuds/gwyllgi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anonymity is a powerful motivator—as is Mako.  <i>"This was a wonderful idea, Raleigh."</i></p><p>Written for the Herc/Raleigh Bingo Challenge prompt: Carnival</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bingo Card

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from a poem by Edgar Albert Guest, _His Other Chance_.
> 
> For lack of anywhere better to put it, the first chapter is my bingo card. Click on through to chapter 2 for the fic.

  



	2. Life Is a Stream Where Men Sink or Swim

"This was a wonderful idea, Raleigh."

Raleigh smiled at Mako's delight; even through the domino mask she wore, her eyes sparkled. "I thought it'd be good to take some time for ourselves." It was true enough; though he appreciated the need to keep their faces 'out there' for PR reasons, Raleigh was increasingly tired of being the Hero of the Breach, smiling for reporters who asked the same questions as the dozens who'd come before them. "I always loved it here."

"I can see why." Mako linked her arm through Raleigh's and tugged him toward a food stand. "You came here often, you said."

"Since I was five. Not every year, but we didn't miss more than two years in a row until—well. The kaiju." He passed some euros to the vendor, then picked up two frittelle Veneziane and offered one to her. He waited for her to bite into it and chuckled when the filling oozed out at the corners of her mouth. "First time I tried one, I wore most of it." He quickly ate his own, unashamedly licked the powdered sugar from his fingers.

"I'm sure it was adorable." Her lips quirked with a sly smile before she wiped neatly at them with a napkin to clear away the last traces of stray custard. "I doubt you've changed much."

Raleigh knew his hurt look was hampered by the columbino mask he wore, but he tried nonetheless—without much success, to judge by Mako's laugh. "I've changed. I don't run away from the girls now, for one."

"Mm." Mako rested two fingers against her cheek as she considered him; one tapped in a slow rhythm. "Were you running away from the girls—or toward the boys?"

Thankfully, it was dark—no one could see the blush that Raleigh's mask couldn't fully obscure. "A little of both, maybe," he admitted. "When we got older—me and Yancy, Jazmine didn't like to hang out with us much by then—we'd run with packs of local kids. The girls were always wanting to play with my hair, but the first one I kissed was one of their brothers." He closed his fingers around Mako's wrist, tugged her hand away from her face. "Do you really want to talk about my love life?"

Mako twisted her hand, laced her fingers through Raleigh's and tugged him along as she moved through the crowd. "Why not? One of us should have one."

"You can't tell me you've not been interested in anyone this whole time. C'mon, Mako."

Mako's hand tightened briefly on his as she hesitated, but it was barely a moment's pause before she was moving again, perhaps a little more quickly than before. "Nothing came of it. You, though—you stand a chance. The Marshal is an attractive man."

Raleigh planted his feet and pulled Mako back until he could slide his arms around her waist and tuck her close. "I thought we swore never to talk about that," he said against her ear, then tickled her sides. "You promised, Mako."

Mako twitched against Raleigh's fingers, but didn't surrender her position; instead, she wrapped her arms around Raleigh's back and leaned against him. They looked like lovers, Raleigh was sure, but that didn't matter then—there was no paparazzi around to speculate on their relationship, no one to judge them for an intimacy that extended far beyond sex. "When if not now?" she asked quietly. "No one here knows us. It's like it never happened." She pulled back just enough to frown at him. "You shouldn't pretend it doesn't exist."

Raleigh sighed and squeezed Mako tightly, then opened his arms to let her slip away. "I'm not much good at talking about feelings, you know that. Just because he was in the Drift doesn't mean... Hell, Mako. It's not like we're fated lovers or anything. I just think he has a nice ass."

If Mako minded his deliberate crassness, she didn't reveal it. She simply cocked her head and pressed her lips thin, studied him as though he was a particularly frustrating puzzle. "Let's go back to the hotel," she said abruptly, then turned and walked away. Raleigh, left with little choice, hurried to catch up.

They made their way back to their hotel in silence. Raleigh stole occasional glimpses at Mako's profile, but her expression was pensive and gave away little of her thoughts. He wondered if she was thinking about her own unrequited love—and how did he not know about that, after they'd Drifted?

It wasn't until they were closed into Mako's hotel room that she turned to face him. Her frown was worrisome enough, but when paired with her downcast eyes when she pulled off her mask, Raleigh didn't stand a chance. "I'm sorry," he said as he reached out to smooth Mako's ruffled hair. "I'm really sorry, Mako."

Mako shook her head, but her frown had turned into a small smile when she reached to tug Raleigh's mask off and press it into his hand. "Why? Why are you sorry, Raleigh?"

Raleigh blinked, then glanced away as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess... because I made you sad."

He didn't expect Mako's laugh. "I'm not sad; I'm frustrated. You and the Marshal dance around each other. I'm not the only one to see what's between you." She tapped a fingertip against Raleigh's lower lip, then turned away and tossed her mask onto the bed. "Why don't you go give him a call? I bet he'd like to hear from you. You can show him your mask."

"Mako," Raleigh began, but caved quickly when Mako made a shooing motion at him. "Good night, then." He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, then let himself out and headed for his room, just next door.

His laptop was on the small table where he'd left it, and he considered for a long moment before he picked it up and carried it to the bed, set it down with the mask he still held. He stacked his pillows against the headboard and settled against them as he opened the laptop, launched the video conference software. It was early yet in Hong Kong, not even five. Herc might not even be awake, much less want to talk to Raleigh.

Mako would be disappointed with him if he didn't try.

Dammit.

Raleigh hit the button to open the connection before he could second-guess himself, sighed as the computer beeped at him. He'd nearly given up when the call connected, and suddenly his screen was full of groggy, scruffy, barely-dressed Herc.

"Morning, Raleigh. What's up?"

"Marshal," Raleigh said, then fell silent as words eluded him. In his deepest, most secret thoughts, he had wondered what a debauched Herc would look like, and the man pictured before him went a long way toward answering that question, long enough that Raleigh couldn't help the sudden inundation of extraordinarily inappropriate thoughts. Raleigh wished he still had the mask to hide behind—there was no way his thoughts weren't all over his face.

Shit, Mako was going to have a field day when he told her.

"Raleigh? Everything OK?"

Raleigh swallowed, forced a smile. "Great. Just got back to the hotel—I was showing Mako around the Carnival. Sorry to call so early."

Herc peered into the screen and afforded Raleigh an excellent view of blue eyes and ginger scruff, along with a tantalizing hint of chest only barely covered by a tight ribbed tank. "You aren't drunk, are you?"

"No, sir." Raleigh bit his inner cheek, wishing for a piece of his usual candy to give him something else to focus on besides how clumsy his tongue had become. "I missed—" He caught 'you' before the word could make it out of his mouth. "I missed our usual conference. I thought I should check in."

Herc shook his head. "Raleigh, you're on vacation. You don't have to report to me now. Why don't you get some sleep? It must be late for you."

"I don't mind reporting to you, sir." In for a penny, in for a pound. "I enjoy our conversations."

Herc paused, one eyebrow arched in apparent skepticism. "You sure you're not drunk, Raleigh?"

"I'm sure." Raleigh paused. "Did you know Mako's a matchmaker, sir?"

Herc's second eyebrow joined the first in its climb up Herc's forehead. "No. No, I did not. Why?"

"Well." Raleigh scratched absently at the side of his neck as his eyes flicked anywhere but at the screen. "She wants to make a match of us." When only silence met his statement, Raleigh looked back at the screen to find Herc with both eyebrows still lifted with disbelief. "I told her it'd never work out."

"Did you?" Herc sighed and rubbed a hand over his hair, then his beard, finally stopped with his chin propped in his palm. "And what did she say?"

Raleigh dropped his gaze to study his fingers, intertwined over his belly. "Nothing. She didn't say anything, just looked at me like I was a misbehaving kid. Sometimes, I think she does it just to mess with me."

The raspy chuckle was a surprise, and Raleigh looked up to find Herc wearing a faint, crooked smile—perhaps the first he'd worn since Pitfall. "Have you ever known Mako to mess with anyone, Raleigh? Outside of the Kwoon, that is—we all know how she kicks your ass." He scrubbed his hand over his hair again. "Listen, this isn't a conversation we should have over vidcom. Why don't you go to bed, get some sleep, and we can discuss it when you get back."

Raleigh blinked. "You want to discuss this." He could feel the corner of his mouth lifting but was unable to fight it. "That isn't a euphemism for kicking me around the Kwoon, is it?"

"No. It's not." Herc's smile took on a wry twist. "And, yes. I do. Goodnight, Raleigh."

Even after Herc had disconnected the call, Raleigh's smile lingered. Herc hadn't given him a hint of which way the wind blew; neither had he shot Raleigh down, and Raleigh would take hope from wherever it came.

Mako was _definitely_ going to laugh when he told her, and he deserved it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks as always to [sorrowfulcheese](http://archiveofourown.org/users/sorrowfulcheese) for the super beta. Any lingering errors are mine, naturally.


End file.
